Urinary Excretion of Malondialdehyde and 1-Hydroxypyrene in Restaurant Workers

Abstract

SAB2-O-03 Introduction: Restaurant workers may have the risk for occupational exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in cooking oil fume. Urinary malondialdehyde (MDA) and 1-hydroxypyrene (1-OHP) are biologic markers of oxidative damage and PAHs metabolism, respectively. We attempted to evaluate the relationship between MDA and 1-OHP in urine for restaurant workers in this study. Methods: We studied 314 nonsmoker workers of Chinese-type restaurants who had been employed for at least 1 year in northern Taiwan. All participants were asked to answer a questionnaire that inquired their type of job, lifestyle, and health condition. After subjects completed the questionnaires during their annual physical examinations, a single urine sample was collected. The annual physical examinations were arranged during the work shifts. All workers were asked to wash their hands prior to urine collection to avoid environmental contamination. All urine samples were analyzed for 1-OHP and MDA by high-performance liquid chromatograph. Result: For male kitchen workers, median MDA and 1-OHP concentrations (μmol/mol creatinine) were 287.4 and 2.0, respectively. These levels were significantly higher than those for male banquet workers: 216.4 μmol/mol creatinine (P = 0.024) and 0.4 μmol/mol creatinine (P = 0.01), respectively. There was a significantly positive correlation between individual urinary MDA concentrations and 1-OHP concentrations, after adjusting several potential confounders. Discussion and Conclusions: Kitchen workers may have the high risk for occupational exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in cooking oil fume. We need further studies to confirm this finding.